U.S. Gulf Coast oil industry struggles with uneven Ida recovery

Author of the article:
Reuters
Marianna Parraga and Liz Hampton
Publishing date:Sep 03, 2021 •

HOUSTON — The engine of the U.S. offshore energy production struggled to recover from Hurricane Ida on Friday as a lack of crews, power and fuel left most Gulf Coast oil and gas output offline five days after the storm passed.

Ports were reopening, crews returning to offshore facilities and some pipelines restarted as companies completed post-storm evaluations. But getting oil flowing again was more difficult as damage at hubs slowed larger facilities. A lack of power onshore kept some refiners sidelined.

About half the originally evacuated platforms remained unoccupied and 93% of oil production and 89% of natural gas was offline, government data showed. Some wells in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about a fifth of U.S. output, could be shut for weeks, analysts said.

EMERGENCY OIL

The White House sought to ease worries about regional fuel shortages by providing a combined 1.8 million barrels of crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to refiners’ Exxon Mobil and Placid Refining Company to produce gasoline.

An offshore transfer station that funnels oil and gas from three large oilfields remained shut on Friday. Some 1.7 million barrels of oil and 1.99 billion cubic feet natural gas output were offline, government data released on Friday showed.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the primary U.S. deepwater export terminal near where the storm made landfall, also remained closed, according to its website. A prolonged outage could hamper U.S. crude oil exports to Asia, said analysts.

“Refiners might resort to the SPR to request crude as Exxon did if pipelines from the Gulf are not ready” by mid-month, said Robert Campbell, head of oil products research at consultancy Energy Aspects. “This is going to be a long recovery.”

DAMAGES OFFSHORE

Chevron said none of its platforms were damaged and it returned workers to all six by Friday. Two offshore pipelines operated by Enbridge were ready to return to service.

But Royal Dutch Shell, the largest Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producer, said it has recovered just 20% of usual production.

Ida damaged an offshore facility called West Delta-143 that connects three large oil basins accounting for an eighth of the Gulf’s oil production, Shell said. The extent of damage was not immediately clear.

“Shell’s West Delta situation is an indication of how slow recovery will be this time,” said Aaron Brady, an analyst with consultancy IHS Markit. “We can expect that a significant amount of oil is likely to be offline for some time, possibly weeks.”

Damages to offshore oil facilities could cost insurers about $1 billion, estimated CoreLogic.

PORTS REOPENING

Most Louisiana ports have reopened, including the Port of New Orleans, while Port Fourchon, an offshore resupply hub, reopened on Thursday for daylight operations only. Extensive damage at Port Fourchon were affecting deliveries to offshore platforms, analysts said.

Louisiana’s largest utility Entergy Corp late Friday took steps to remove transmission lines in the Mississippi River blocking vessels from reaching oil refineries west of New Orleans. The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the effort.

About 820,000 homes and businesses in the state lacked power, according to tracking firm PowerOutage.com. About two-thirds of gasoline stations from New Orleans to Baton Rouge were without fuel, said gasoline tracker GasBuddy.

Tony Odak, chief operating officer of Stone Oil Distributor, which supplies fuel to offshore producers, said he has begun getting supplies from as far away as Port Arthur and Galveston, Texas.

“We are securing resupply outside the Mississippi River right now,” said Odak. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Liz Hampton, Sabrina Valle and Arathy Nair; Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Richard Pullin, Louise Heavens, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)

A BEASTLY DAY

Quebec reports 666 new COVID 19 cases, one death, hospitalizations remain stable

By Sidhartha Banerjee  The Canadian Press

Posted September 4, 2021 10:26 am



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Quebec reported 666 new COVID-19 cases in its latest data on Saturday, with one additional death attributed to the virus.

The province’s health department said the number of patients in hospital remain stable at 147, while the number in intensive care climbed by three to 52.

The seven-day average for new cases stands at 599. According to Health Department data, 81 per cent of the latest new infections were among people who were not adequately vaccinated.

On Twitter, Health Minister Christian Dubé wrote that about 20 new cases have required hospitalization each day over the past week and active hospitalizations have remained stable.

But he noted that intensive care stays for that same period are 36 per cent higher, moving from 38 to 52 cases, and patients are staying longer in the ICU.

“The daily hospital news puts enormous pressure on our staff, especially in Greater Montreal,” Dubé wrote Saturday. “To limit the number of hospitalizations and particularly the impact on intensive care, we must continue to increase our vaccination coverage and monitor health measures.”

The province administered 25,269 vaccine doses on Friday, including more than 8,300 first doses.

Dubé published a missive on his Facebook page on Friday, saying Quebecers would have to get used to living with the virus as variants emerge in different places, putting off collective immunity against COVID-19.

“Instead of looking for the date when all this will end, we will have to learn to live with the virus,” Dubé wrote. “We will have to accept a certain number of cases and a certain number of hospitalizations if we want to return to a normal life.”

One of those measures is the province’s vaccine passport. Officials said the VaxiCode application that runs the province’s proof-of-vaccination system has now been downloaded 3.2 million times.

Quebec launched its vaccine passport on Sept. 1, which is required to access certain non-essential activities and businesses, including bars, restaurant dining rooms, gyms and sports venues.

There is a two-week grace period but as of Sept. 15, people and businesses in violation of the health order could face fines.

China’s Technology Workers Get Unions
September 04, 2021

FILE - The app of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is seen on a mobile phone in front of the company logo displayed in this illustration picture taken July 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo)


Two major Chinese technology companies, Didi Global and Jd.com, set up labor groups for their employees this week. Also called unions, such groups are controlled by workers and designed to protect their rights and interests on the job.

The creation of these unions is a major change in the technology industry in China, where organized labor is very rare.

Did Global is an online ride-sharing business. Jd.com is an online marketplace.

China’s regulatory agency has been closely watching the country’s biggest technology companies this year. Regulators have sharply criticized the industry for having policies that abuse workers and violate shoppers’ rights. The regulatory agency has launched several investigations and ordered fines against some companies.

Delivery workers move parcels from an automated sorting belt to carts at a JD.com's smart logistics center on Singles Day shopping festival, in Beijing, China November 11, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

The government is urging companies to set up programs to share wealth more fairly with workers. The push is part of President Xi Jinping’s plan to ease inequality in China, the largest economy after the United States.

At first, Didi's workers at its Beijing headquarters will supervise the union with guidance from the All China Federation of Trade Unions, or ACTFU. That information is from two people who have knowledge of the matter. The people were not given permission to speak to media and asked not to be identified.

A newspaper with a connection to the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions announced that JD.com established a trade union. The report included photos of the ceremony the company held, which was attended by many government officials.

JD.com confirmed the news, saying that some of its local workplaces had created unions in past years. It said the new union’s aim is to cooperate on planning and resources.

Didi did not answer a request for comment.

Didi has been criticized by state media for not paying its drivers fairly. The company said in April it would set up a drivers’ group to settle the wages problem. The company has also been the subject of an investigation by several Chinese officials since its $4.4 billion U.S. stock market listing in June.

Didi and JD.com are believed to be the biggest technology companies in China to have set up company-wide unions. But officials in the Hubei area say unions have been set up there for workers of the companies Meituan and Alibaba's Ele.me.

Meituan is an internet service that lets users order food, buy travel, book entertainment, book housecleaners and do much more.

Ele.me is an online service for ordering and delivery of food.

Neither Meituan nor Alibaba answered Reuters’ requests for comment.

The two food delivery firms have been criticized in local media for their treatment of delivery workers. The companies do not give most of these workers basic social and medical insurance.

In July, the ACFTU and seven other Chinese government agencies published guidance on protecting the rights of such contract workers. It also suggested unions play a major part in helping negotiate with companies.

All unions in China are required to register with the ACFTU. But the agency has often been criticized for its inability to negotiate better terms for workers.

Aidan Chau is a researcher for the China Labour Bulletin, a workers’ rights organization based in Hong Kong. He said the country's unions mostly avoid facing abusive policies at big companies. Instead, they deal directly with individual employees' problems on a case-by-case basis. They also provide more general support for workers, such as programs for health and safety.

Last month, China's highest court ruled that a common employment policy, known as "996,” violates the law. “996” means working from nine in the morning to nine at night six days a week. Chinese technology companies are known for expecting employees to follow the “996” system.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

 Manitoba

School support staff in Thompson end strike days after walking off the job

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Union members have until Tuesday to vote on whether to accept school division’s latest offer

CBC · Posted: Sep 04, 2021 

School support workers in Thompson began picketing on Monday. (Submitted by Matt Winterton)

School support staff in Thompson, Man., felt they had no choice but to strike since they couldn't convince their employer to meet at the bargaining table even once.

But four days after they started picketing, the striking staff not only got their first meeting, but a satisfactory contract offer. 

Union spokesperson Matt Winterton said he was relieved to be pulled off the picket line on Friday and presented with that proposal.

The offer included retroactive wage increases, non-monetary language changes to the collective agreement and repayment of benefit premiums the union paid during the strike, he said.

"Basically right then and there, I looked at the offer and I knew we could … take that to the members for a vote," said Winterton, whose United Steel Workers Local 8223 union represents around 180 support and clerical staff at the School District of Mystery Lake in northern Manitoba.

"We're pretty in touch with the membership at that point and what their desired outcome was."

• School support staff in Thompson on strike

Winterton said when he brought the offer out to the striking workers on Friday, he was met with cheers.

"It was ecstatic. The energy was unreal. People were relieved," he said.

"Our members didn't want to be on strike. They knew they had to … but they wanted to be at school for the kids."

Those workers — including clerical staff, educational assistants, custodians and maintenance workers — also wanted to be treated on par with teachers in terms of wage increases, Winterton said.

"They weren't looking for any more," he said.

Pay hikes

The contract offer provides that, with proposed retroactive wage increases that stretch back four years to when the last contract expired, Winterton said.

That includes a 1.5 per cent increase for July 2017 and January 2018, a 1.6 per cent bump for July 2018, a 1.4 per cent hike for July 2019 and a 0.5 per cent boost for July 2020. It also proposes a cost-of-living adjustment for July of this year.

• Pembina Trails teachers get pay bump, even though division 'hobbled by arbitrary cutbacks': arbitrator

Workers have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots and potentially ratify the latest offer.

Winterton said about 75 per cent of the union's members have already voted, but the poll will stay open for a few more days so the long weekend doesn't stop anyone from making their voice heard.

CBC News has reached out to the school district for comment. In a Facebook post earlier this week, it said it hoped to reach an agreement with the two bargaining groups and that it will try to maintain all services possible at schools.

About 180 workers were on strike in the School District of Mystery Lake, including clerical staff, educational assistants, custodians and maintenance workers. (Submitted by Matt Winterton)

Winterton said he's "very confident" the vote will be strongly in favour of the new offer and staff will return to work in time for the first day of classes on Thursday.

"The impression I get [from] both the school board and our members is, 'Hey, it's crunch time. We're going to get back to work,'" he said.

"'We're going to get the school year up and running ASAP and it'll be without a hitch going forward.' That's kind of the feeling, the message that I'm getting."

Boom time for Afghan arms dealers in Taliban heartland


Issued on: 05/09/21

Weapons dealers in Panjwai, Kandahar province, are flush with inventory after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

 JAVED TANVEER AFP


Panjwai (Afghanistan) (AFP)

The Taliban takeover may have plunged Afghanistan into uncertainty and economic pain, but arms dealer Khan Mohammad is making the most of it.

Sandwiched between a pharmacy and a general store, his shop in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province -- the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban -- is flush with fresh inventory.

Camouflage combat vests and bandoliers hung from the walls as Mohammed showed off his wares, including US-made Smith & Wesson pistols and ammunition belts.


More pistols, grenades, walkie-talkies and jars full of bullets lined the glass display in the front.

Pistols, ammunition belts and accessories are on sale in the Panjwai market 

JAVED TANVEER AFP

The end of the conflict has led many weapon-owners to conclude they no longer need them, Mohammad explained.

"People who have had guns at home for years bring us their weapons," he said.

Mohammad has a customer lined up too.

"We buy them and sell... to the Mujahideen," he said, referring to the Taliban.

"The Taliban don't let anyone else take (the weapons)."

Mohammad did not just have weapons -- there were accessories too.

The Panjwai arms dealers also have Taliban flags and accessories for sale 

JAVED TANVEER AFP

White Taliban baseball caps with the Muslim proclamation of faith printed on them hung from the ceiling. The group's flags were also on sale.

Another dealer in the dusty Panjwai market, whose shop was adorned with large Taliban flags and pictures of the group's top leaders, had more potent offerings.

They included assault rifles -- variants of the AK-47 as well as the US-made M4 and M16 -- and even light machine guns.

The Taliban for years procured weapons and ammunition from the black market. They also captured arms and equipment from the battlefield and abandoned military posts, according to UN and Western monitors.

Pistols, hand grenades and ammunition are seen on display at a shop in Panjwai, Kandahar

 JAVED TANVEER AFP

And the recent collapse of the Afghan military created an arms bonanza for the militants.

Alongside a large haul of American-made infantry weapons, Afghanistan's new rulers now possess equipment and vehicles -- including humvees, armoured personnel carriers, and at least one functioning Black Hawk helicopter.

The militants are also making the most of their spoils.

One arms dealer told AFP that the Taliban purchase their stock, and do not let others buy weapons JAVED TANVEER AFP

The Taliban are cashing in on a wide variety of items from abandoned Afghan and Western military bases.

They seized Panjwai district in July as the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan gathered pace.

In the local market, everything from construction material to metal trays salvaged from the district's Afghan military base was for sale.

"We bought all these things from the Taliban after they conquered the Afghan army base," said vendor Murtaza, who gave only one name.

"Now we bring them to the market to sell."

© 2021 AFP

#KASHMIR  IS  #INDIA'S #GAZA

India charges late Kashmir leader's family under anti-terror law
Issued on: 05/09/2021 -

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol a road in Srinagar as security forces maintained a lockdown across Kashmir in recent days 

TAUSEEF MUSTAFA AFP

Srinagar (India) (AFP)

The family of a separatist icon from Indian-administered Kashmir have been charged under a sweeping anti-terrorism law for allegedly chanting anti-New Delhi slogans and wrapping his body with Pakistan's flag after he died, officials said.

Tensions in the Himalayan territory, which is disputed between India and Pakistan, have been heightened since Syed Ali Geelani died on Wednesday at the age of 92 in the main city of Srinagar.

Police in Kashmir said a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) -- which effectively allows people to be held without trial indefinitely -- was registered on Saturday against Geelani's family

The family were accused of "raising anti-national slogans and resorting to other anti-national activities" at the influential resistance leader's home soon after his death.

They have not yet been detained by police.

His son Naseem Geelani did not deny the allegations but repeated earlier claims that police took his father's body away to be buried in the middle of the night just hours after his death, and did not allow the family to perform last rites.

Police have refuted those allegations.

"We told the visiting police officers that they had taken control of everything after my father's death and that we were mourning. We had no way of knowing who was doing what," the son told AFP on Sunday.

A video widely shared on social media showed the leader's body wrapped in a Pakistani flag before police officers took it away amid a scuffle with his family members.

Chants of "we want freedom" were heard in the background during the mayhem.

Authorities on Sunday eased a lockdown imposed to maintain calm after his death across Kashmir, allowing for limited movement. An internet and mobile phone shutdown was partially eased on Saturday.

Geelani, a popular figure in the region, spent over five decades fighting for self-determination for people in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Islamabad observed a day of national mourning after Geelani's death and funeral prayers for the leader were held across Pakistan and in Turkey.

In Srinagar, Indian troops are guarding Geelani's grave and no-one is allowed to approach it.

Anger has simmered in the territory since 2019 when New Delhi controversially revoked the region's semi-autonomy and brought it under direct rule.

Residents in the Muslim-majority region say repression has intensified in the two years since the changes.

India has used the vaguely-worded UAPA legislation against thousands of Kashmiri residents, journalists and dissidents, according to activists.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces for decades, demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan that controls a part of it.

Tens of thousands have died in the fighting, most civilians.

© 2021 AFP

SUPERSPREADER EVENT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers protest Modi agricultural laws

Issued on: 05/09/2021 - 

People attend a Maha Panchayat, or grand village council meeting, as part of a farmers' protest against agricultural laws in Muzaffarnagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India on September 5, 2021. © Adnan Abidi, Reuters

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws.

More than 500,000 farmers attended the rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar, according to local police.

The demonstration in Uttar Pradesh, a predominantly agricultural state that's home to 240 million people, will breathe fresh life into the protest movement, said Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers' leader.

"We'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that Modi's government is anti-farmer," he added.

Over the past eight months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on major highways to the capital, New Delhi to oppose the laws, in India's longest-running farmers' protest against the government.

The measures, introduced last September, allow farmers to directly sell their produce, outside government-regulated wholesale markets, to big buyers. The government says this will unshackle farmers and help them get better prices.

Farmers, however, say the legislation will hurt their livelihood and leave them with scant bargaining power against big private retailers and food processors.

Farming is a vast sector that sustains almost half of India's more than 1.3 billion people, and accounts for about 15% of the country's $2.7 trillion economy.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, another farmers' leader, said Sunday's rally was a warning for Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which next year will contest a state assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, often seen as a barometer of the popularity of the federal government.

"Our message is very clear - either repeal the laws or face defeat in the state election," he added.

(REUTERS)

NDP's Singh promises dental care coverage for families earning less than $90,000


The Canadian PressStaff
 Saturday, September 4, 2021 

ST. JOHN'S, NFLD. -- A one-per-cent tax on some of Canada's wealthiest residents would be enough to fund the start of a national dental care program, the leader of the federal NDP said Saturday as he filled in details on a key plank of his party's election platform.

The plan outlined by Jagmeet Singh revisited a frequent theme of his electoral campaign as he insisted Canada's ultra-rich should be paying more to cover the cost of a host of social programs.

Funding for government-subsidized dental care, he said, would come from a one-per-cent tax on Canadians with a net wealth of $10 million or more.

Singh said the resulting cash would provide full dental coverage for uninsured families earning less than $60,000 a year and partial coverage for families with less than $90,000 in annual income, noting the measures would take effect immediately under an NDP government.

"This is completely doable in the scheme of federal programs, this is very achievable," Singh said during a campaign stop in St. John's. "It would provide relief to people who are worried that they can't afford the care that they need."

Singh said his ultimate goal would be to eventually add complete dental care coverage as a benefit under Canada's health-care program, estimating the new plan would cost around $1.5 billion in its first year before leveling off to just under $1 billion a year later.

The plan is similar to the one Singh campaigned on in 2019, which also offered help for families earning less than $90,000 a year as well as a sliding copayment for families in the $70,000 to $90,000 annual earning bracket.

When asked about the similarities to the previous version of the plan, Singh said the party was dedicated to continuing the fight for improved medical care.

"It's not a surprise that we are still campaigning on the things we believe in because we haven't changed our beliefs," he said. "People have realized more than ever that our health-care system has had gaps. They've seen that COVID-19 didn't create the problems, but certainly exposed a lot of them."

Singh also voiced a proposal for tackling what he described as other gaps in the national health-care system.

He said leaning on residents with international training could be a key tool in shoring up the health-care sector and addressing staffing shortages exacerbated during the pandemic and its aftermath.

"There are a lot of very talented people that come to Canada with international experience ... but then when they get here that (experience) is not recognized and they can't practice in their fields," Singh said. "I think that could also help us with medically trained professionals and other professionals that have great training and experience but aren't able to use that when they come to Canada."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 4, 2021.

---

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and his wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu hold hands as they walk to the campaign plane in St. John's, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. 

(THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld)

Singh renews pledge of federal dental care, says Liberals take Atlantic Canada for granted

Program would subsidize expenses for Canadians earning less than $90,000 per year


Ryan Patrick Jones · CBC News · Posted: Sep 04, 2021

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during a campaign stop in St. John's, N.L., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. Speaking alongside two dental hygienists, Singh pledged to bring in a federal program to help Canadians who earn less than $90,000 per year pay for dental expenses. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh today repeated a promise from the party's 2019 campaign to implement a federal program that would subsidize the costs of dental care for Canadians who lack insurance.

Singh made the pledge on the 21st day of the federal election campaign in the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of St. John's South–Mount Pearl as the party fights to expand its Atlantic Canada caucus from one seat.

"I've heard story after story from people who cannot get their teeth looked after," said Singh.

"This is where we see one of the greatest divides: If you've got the right job, if you have enough money, you can get your teeth looked after. But for everyone else, they're kind of left high and dry."





Watch NDP campaign to start rapid testing


In light of recent COVID-19 modelling released by Canada's chief public health officer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his team will now start administering rapid tests on the campaign and cut the size of events. 0:36

Singh said the program would partly cover expenses of Canadians with an annual income of less than $90,000 per year, and fully cover people who earn less than $60,000 per year.

In a news release, the NDP said the program would benefit 6.5 million Canadians and save the average family $1,200 in dental fees each year.

The party campaigned on a similar plan in 2019, which promised free dental care for households making less than $70,000, with a sliding co-payment for those earning between $70,000 and $90,000.

A 2020 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that the federal government would face a one-time upfront cost of about $3 billion and then $1.5 billion annually until 2024-25 to pay for a similar program.
Funded by wealth tax

An NDP government would cover the expenses with funds generated by a one per cent tax on households with wealth of more than $10 million, Singh said.

Singh was was joined for the announcement by St. John's South–Mount Pearl NDP candidate Ray Critch, a lawyer and teacher, and labour leader Mary Shortall, the party's candidate for the next-door riding of St. John's East.

The fourth-place party is fighting to hold St. John's East, its only seat in Atlantic Canada following the 2019 election. It was previously held by longtime NDP MP Jack Harris.

Singh, who spent time living in St. John's when he was young, accused the Liberals of taking Atlantic voters for granted.

"They take you all for granted because they just expect that they'll get your votes," he said. "We want to fight for you, we want to earn your support, and I want to be here to let people know that I want to earn your support and earn your confidence."

'Wildcards': Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats say they're running to win an election they didn't want

Modelling prompts campaign rethink

Singh also announced that his party is making changes to the way it campaigns as a result of new national COVID-19 modelling, released yesterday, that projected that Canada could see up to 15,000 cases per day by the end of the month if the rate of vaccination does not increase and more restrictive public health measures are not introduced.

The NDP leader's campaign will soon implement a rapid testing program, Singh said, something the Liberal and Conservative campaigns already have in place.

In addition, Singh said the party is planning to change the types of campaign events it holds to avoid large gatherings of people.

"The new evidence that's come out from our public health experts in Canada is really sobering," he said. "Things look like they could get really bad."

How an impromptu chess lesson to teens turned into a hit summer camp

Israel Crooks learned chess as a kid in Jamaica. Now he's in Hamilton passing 

on his love for the game

Wayne MacPhail · CBC News · Posted: Sep 04, 2021 



Israel Crooks teaches chess in the park

Israel Crooks has two passions — art and chess.

For now, his hope for life as a professional artist is a dream deferred. But playing chess is a reality he's brought to teens in Hamilton these past few weeks.

On weekday afternoons, you'll find Crooks, his shade tents and his chess sets — one with pieces the size of small dogs — set up at the eastern end of the busy Victoria Park in the city's downtown.

Crooks, 47, teaches a small group of neighbourhood kids what he calls "the most beautiful game I have ever seen in my life."

The native of Jamaica paces between the tables he's set up, cajoling, counselling and kidding his charges toward a strategic understanding of the ways of the world, wrought in miniature pieces on his checked battlefields.

He is part comic, mugging for the kids, part sage, wisely stroking his chin in thoughtful contemplation. He monitors the kids' progress, moving from board to board with the erratic freedom of a knight on the attack.

Adam Alsafadl, 12, shown in Hamiton's Victoria Park, and his older brother Yousef, 14, were two of Crooks's first Chess in the Park students. (Wayne MacPhail)

Crooks was first exposed to chess at age 10 in Montego Bay. He deepened his skill year by year as he earned a degree in biochemistry and then moved to Hamilton in 2002 to join his wife, who had already arrived and settled in. Here, he honed his game even more, through hours of play at the Hamilton Public Library and between shifts at the city's factories.
I noticed the kids weren't playing [basketball] strategically. I told them we need to play chess.​​​​​- Israel Crooks

About a month ago, he brought a chess set to a basketball game in the park.

"I noticed the kids weren't playing [basketball] strategically," he says. "I told them we need to play chess."

His set ended up on the court and the boys gathered around to watch Crooks moving pieces in an intricate dance of intrigue.

"They asked me to teach them," Crooks recalls.

He started with a few free ad hoc lessons and then, with the aid of a flyer his wife put together, more formal, for-fee (15 sessions, $225) Chess in the Park classes.

Israel Crooks' love of chess began as a kid in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He is now teaching kids in Hamilton to play. (Wayne MacPhail)

Adam Alsafadl, 12, and his older brother Yousef, 14, were two of Crooks's first students.

On this day late in August, the boys quietly watched as Crooks demonstrated a queen sacrifice and explained the traits of a poisoned pawn.

Adam had never played chess before, but started coming every day to absorb the game from Crooks.

"I learned a lot of strategy, tactics, openings. I think it will help me a lot with other stuff, like in school," Adam said.

Still holding onto his artist dream

The summer session for the classes is over now, but Crooks, who has also worked as a Mohawk College instructor and has a bachelor of education degree, has plans to extend the course into the fall.

"We will see what comes," he said.

As for his dream of becoming a professional painter? He hopes, in two years, to study in France.

"That is my real passion, to be a true artist," Crooks said.

He says his wife, a business analyst, supports him chasing his dreams.

"She is so, so supportive," he said, and laughs. "I owe her. Huge."

King's advance, queen's gambit. Clearly, chess runs in the family.

Opinion: University of Alberta at risk from death by a thousand cuts

Author of the article: Michael Phair, Bradley Lafortune
Publishing date: Sep 04, 2021 •

An aerial view of the University of Alberta in Edmonton. PHOTO BY POSTMEDIA /File
Article content

Like many Albertans, we are angry and we are gravely concerned about the future of our province. From deep and long-avoided fiscal challenges to strains on our social safety net, Alberta is undeniably under a tremendous amount of pressure. We believe this is in large part as a result of policy choices and political priorities. And we believe the correct response to tend to these challenges and pressures must be policy-based and political at the highest level.

A critical part of the solution to easing these pressures, and, more importantly, imagining an Alberta built on the principle of a society where all Albertans thrive, is engaging and confronting what is currently unfolding at our post-secondary institutions and particularly at the University of Alberta — which has been left “stabbed and bleeding” at the hands of the UCP government.

Let’s put it in context. When Ralph Klein cut post-secondary as part of his reckless agenda to “balance” Alberta’s books at the expense of health care, education, and mental health and addictions services, to name just a few, he cut back funding by 18 per cent over 10 years. Kenney’s approach makes this look tame by comparison. The UCP’s proposed reduction to our post-secondary system is to cut operational funding by 20 per cent over the next four years. Specifically, the UCP is aggressively targeting our flagship university, the University of Alberta — while 25 per cent of Alberta’s students attend the University of Alberta, the school is facing 50 per cent of the cuts.

We expect that in the Alberta system, where colleges and universities are governed by an appointed board, that the minister of Advanced Education advocate for the value of the sector and its importance to a promising future. Instead, Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and his office deliberately push for these draconian cuts, resulting in shock and chaos to the system that will lead to a race to the bottom. If these cuts persist, Alberta is at risk of providing the least amount of money of any province to post-secondary institutions, based on population.

And what about the outcomes? The jobs of over a thousand university staff — professors, tradespeople who repair and upgrade buildings, groundskeepers, and lab assistants — have been demolished. These were good and decent jobs for folks to be able to work, live and contribute as Edmonton citizens. In attempting to partially compensate for the $120-million-and counting-funding loss, tuition for all students is significantly rising at a time when many students are burdened by huge debts.

The UCP is reducing accessibility for every young person, making post-secondary harder and harder to justify for more and more potential students. Meanwhile, they are undermining the U of A’s claim to greatness, as programs of studies and the range of course and research opportunities continue to be eroded through funding cuts, attrition and reorganizations, resulting in faculty and staff being asked to do more with much, much less.

Ultimately, the kind of province and society we want to protect and the future we want to build — founded on creativity, equity, the public good, adaptability, passion, innovation, and knowledge — is at stake. For over a hundred years, the university has been an Edmonton treasure and its excellence has brought nationwide recognition and acclaim to the city and the province; under the UCP and Minister Nicolaides the university is bleeding.

These observations come from a place of deep care for the University of Alberta and our province, and a belief that if we walk alongside our allies within and beyond our institutions, we can save the future of our post-secondary education system, for current students, faculty, and staff, and for generations to come. That’s why Public Interest Alberta is redoubling its efforts to protect Alberta’s future by protecting the U of A and our post-secondaries. You’ll be hearing a lot more from us and our partners this fall, that is for certain. The current context and the stakes demand it.

Each year at the University of Alberta, nearly 9,000 mostly young people graduate and each year the university welcomes 10,000 new students. We simply cannot let the message be sent to these students that we are now living in the “Alberta Disadvantage.” Instead, we need to reverse these cuts, stop the bleeding, and invest in a future for all of us — especially our students.

Michael Phair is past chair, University of Alberta board of governors, and Bradley Lafortune is executive director of Public Interest Alberta.